Off The Main Lines: A Photographic Odyssey

Paperback | August 1, 2013

In this visually stunning and comprehensive photographic essay, railroad historian and photographer Donovan L. Hofsommer records the end of branchline passenger service, the demise of electric railroads, the transition from steam to diesel power, as well as the end of common carrier freight service on the Colorado narrow gauge. Off the Main Lines carries readers along out-of-the-way railways in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Montana, and South Dakota to see the changes that occurred on these lines from the 1940s to the 1990s.

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In this visually stunning and comprehensive photographic essay, railroad historian and photographer Donovan L. Hofsommer records the end of branchline passenger service, the demise of electric railroads, the transition from steam to diesel power, as well as the end of common carrier freight service on the Colorado narrow gauge. Off the...

Donovan L. Hofsommer is Professor of History at St. Cloud State University and president of the Lexington Group. He is author of Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005) and (with H. Roger Grant) of Iowa's Railroads: An Album (IUP, 2009).

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"This volume presents a 'different' side of Don Hofsommer, an author perhaps best known for his thoroughly researched railroad history presentations. Judging by the superb collection of action oriented images presented here, Hofsommer was also an avid rail enthusiast photographer. The book's eight chapters of text material is an interesting blend of historical fact and personal reminiscence, and traces the author's own personal 60-year rail odyssey to a variety of 'off the beaten path' locations." -Michigan Railfan